Going to the vet these days can cost a fortune.  In the last four months alone we have spent over $2000, something I consider to be a substantial amount of money.  Why do we do it? Because we love our pets and will do anything to keep them safe and healthy. So when I came across this article on tips to take the bite out of pet health costs I knew it was worth taking a look at.

Americans spent more than $10 billion on veterinary care last year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

If you’re anything like our family, you probably feel like you’re contributing a good amount towards that $10 billion.  Hopefully, the following tips will help bring down your out of pocket costs.

Following are just three of the twelve tips suggested by non-profit animal groups, industry watchdogs and veterinarians.

Look for vet specials. In-office clinics can offer price breaks on vaccinations, teeth cleanings and other procedures. Also, there are senior citizen discounts and package plans for puppy or kitten care.

Go online. If a medication is not needed immediately, you can sometimes save money by ordering it online rather than buying at a veterinarian office. Suppliers include Petmed Express (www.1800 petmeds.com), PetCareRx ( www.petcarerx.com) and Foster and Smith (www .drsfostersmith.com).

Consider insurance. Because of substantial deductibles and exclusions in pet policies, according to the Consumer Reports study, pet owners might be better off putting what they pay in monthly premiums into a savings account. But coverage could play a major role in covering bills for very expensive conditions.

While every suggestion may not be suitable for you, I think there’s a little something in the article for everyone.

The kids (Bo, Copper and Logan) all agreed that this week’s episode seemed to flow better. This may be because we knew what to expect…a reality show with dog owners and their precious pets.  Personally I think they’re following the reality TV formula a bit too closely (the dramatic music, the interviews driving conflict, the selection of who goes into the doghouse), but it’s still fun to watch.

The show started out with a scuffle and ended with an owner meltdown, with a bunch of doggie goodness in between.

We saw a little bit more of the human-canine bond. When Bill was sitting on his bed, missing his wife and family, Star came over to comfort him. You can tell, these two just have a great relationship. Also, Bill’s concern when Star got hurt, brought me back to the times waiting in the veterinarian’s office with my own dogs, hoping things will be ok.  We need to see more of this with the other owners.  They have the relationship, CBS just needs to show it to us.

Since this week was obedience week, the challenges were pretty easy. I think my dogs could have passed most of them. Well, except that back up command.

The line of the night came from Tillman’s father Ron as he prepared for the ‘dining event. “We’re going to try as hard as we can. If he does a backflip and talks Japanese, right on! If he runs off the stage to smell another dog’s butt, well that’s my dog”. I think a lot of us can relate to that!

I couldn’t stop laughing when Tillman was presented the steak, but not allowed to eat it. I can’t believe he held off.

I thought the judges did a good job in who they selected to take the last lap. It was obvious the entire night who should go, but looking to grasp defeat from the paws of victory, Beth Joy went off on the judges for criticizing her for dressing up Bella Starlet. I’m not saying the content of what she was saying was right or wrong, but there’s a time and place for everything. The judges could have let their egos get in the way and vote for Beth Joy’s and Bella Starlet’s exit, but they didn’t sending Elan and Kenji home instead

I was surprised the judges weren’t a little tougher on Elan for the way she handled Kenji. I thought it was great when guest judge, Wendy Diamond, kept interrupting Elan when she was trying to respond in the same way Elan interrupts Kenji.  I hope when Elan sees the episode she’ll be able to take a step back and see the error in her ways, especially in the grabbing of the snout.

I’ll be watching next week.

So what did you folks think?

In Salt Lake City (UT),  Michael Ray Howard was convicted for killing 14 puppies, and received a sentence of 13 years handed down by Judge Roger Dutson.

In December a bag containing 14 puppies was found in a dumpster outside a Salt Lake City, UT, Hancock Fabric store. Only one one of the puppies survived and has since been adopted by Rita Woodward, an employee of Hancock Fabrics and one of the women who found the puppies.

It is high time that the courts take animal abuse seriously and that prosecutors are able to seek charges that are suitable for the crime.

He was charged with 14 counts of animal cruelty and one third-degree felony. Initially, Howard pleaded not guilty even though he did admit he stuffed the tiny, 3-5 week old Jack Russell mix puppies, in a heavy trash bag to suffocate, left them outside overnight and the next day figuring he’d accomplished killing them all, threw the bag of puppies in a Riverdale dumpster. He changed his plea to guilty the following day.

Prosecutors were able to use a new law, Henry’s Law, that was passed earlier in the year to charge him with a felony.

Prosecutors said the crime was committed with “extreme depravity” and noted it was a touchstone for the passage of Henry’s Law, which increased the penalty for extreme cases of animal cruelty to a felony. That bill was passed by the Legislature earlier this year.

While  Judge Dutson did issue the sentence to run concurrently, I do applaud him for handing out the maximum sentence on the aggravated animal cruelty charge.

Howard, also convicted of illegal possession of a controlled substance and an admitted methamphetamine user/addict was sentenced to serve to serve 13 years in prison for the class A misdemeanor counts of aggravated animal cruelty, six months in prison for a class B misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, and up to five years in prison for the drug charge. All sentence will run together which in reality means about a 5 year sentence and probably even less time will actually be served.

Let’s hope, at the earliest, we don’t see Michael Ray Howard on the street until 2013.

I want to thank Laura Goldberg, Communications Consultant at  Petside.com, for sharing this fun article.

Petside has found the most pet friendly hotels in the nation! These locations offer the most amenities and the best service to their four-legged guests of any hotels in the US.

Where, oh where,  should me and my little dog go?

From Los Angeles to New York City, your pet can have a first-class experience away from home, no matter how far you travel.

So next time you vacation with your pet, check out these locations to ensure a great stay for you and your furry friend!

Happy trails!

You see abuse stories everyday but here’s one that really caught my attention. This story is from Cullman County in Alabama.

Two dogs found beaten and bloody in a bag of dog food are ready for adoption according to Cullman Area Animal Welfare Association president Linda Morgan.

These two have survived a horrendous situation and deserve a wonderful caring forever home.  They are going to have some special needs so it’s important to find the right placement.

The dogs are hound mix and have developed medical problems as a result of the abuse. One dog named R.C. is totally blind. The other named M.C. may have a slight neurological problem because his depth perception appears to be off, said Mathis.

They may have special needs but it sounds like you won’t find more loving dogs than these two, amazing after what they’ve been through.

Anyone interested in adopting the dogs should contact Sonya Mathis at 256-636-4627.

I urge anyone that may have information to contact the sheriff.  We need to get people who could do this to defenseless animals off the streets.

According to the Code of Alabama. a person is guilty of animal cruelty if he or she killed or injured an animal without good cause. In Alabama, animal cruelty is a Class B misdemeanor.sless animal off the streets.

I’m not sure if everyone knows, but each of the contestants has their own Dogster page. Go send a pup pal request to your favorite talented canine, and maybe they’ll even bark back with some juicy details for you!  Don’t forget to join the Greatest American Dog Fan Club to find out all the latest and greatest info.

Let’s see who gets chosen for their one “last walk” tonight.

In a pet center near Jacksonville, Fl a special adoption event was held.

About 300 people clustered in front of the building and drew random numbers for their chance to take home a purebred dog rescued from a June 25 puppy-mill raid in Tennessee.

The dogs were saved from undersized cages and filthy living conditions and sent to pet adoption centers across the country. St. Johns County received about 30, 10 of which were immediately available.

It’s heartwarming to see so many people who want to adopt these wonderful dogs.  If only it didn’t take a purebred puppy to get this many potential adopters to open their homes.  There are so many wonderful mixed breeds available for adoption everyday, let’s not forget about them.

Department Manager Paul Studivant said he hoped the clamor for the purebred pups would lead to some of the center’s other animals finding an owner. He tried to convince one of the pet-lottery winners to take home a solid-looking Labrador mix.

All 10 of the available purebreds, including two pugs that still require surgery, were snatched up by the end of the event. An additional eight dogs and two cats from the center’s general population also were adopted.

I give a special kudos to Paul Studivant for treating all the adoptable dogs as equals and not overlooking the importance of all of them getting homes. This story isn’t over yet, there’s a little fella I need to tell you about.

Buster, a 1-year-old,light-brown German shepherd mix pawed at the air as people kept walking past his cage. It looked like he was beckoning each passerby to glance his way. His deep brown eyes looked melancholy as few took the time to get that far.

So, for any one looking for a dog named Buster, or one of the many other adoptable dogs, the St. Johns County Pet Center is at 130 N. Stratton Road.  It is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Prospective pet owners can call (904) 209-6190.

7/17 UPDATE:  I just received a message from Thom W.  that Buster has a new home.  That’s great news, but there are still many dogs there that need forever homes.

In Jacksonville’s newspaper today, there is an article stating that Buster now has a new home. A local doctor has adopted him.

I want to thank Dogster member Susan Marie and her pal Coffee for bringing us the following message.

Local Greyhound adoption groups are stepping up to the plate to try to assist a sudden huge influx of dogs who are retiring en mass. Some of the dogs will be moved to other tracks out of state, but the vast majority need homes now!

I have been so touched by the Dogster community coming together to makelife better for so many animals, I thought perhaps I could put out a plea to all the Dogster doggies.

If someone is in the Denver/Boulder area, perhaps they could consider fostering. Or of course, we always need monetary donations.

To find out more, visit www.coloradogreyhoundadoption.org. If you want to help a 45 mile per hour couch potato find a forever couch…er…home.

There are six different categories you can enter and two grand prize winners each awarded $2,000.  Now that will keep the biscuit jar full for a while.

All entries must be postmarked on or after June 15, 2008, but no later than July 31, 2008, and received no later than August 7, 2008.

I want to thank Jillian McDowell from American Humane for bringing this fun contest to my attention.

If anyone is looking or thinking about adopting a rescue, and you live in the Atlanta area, now is the time to act.  These very adorable pups are scheduled to die this Thurs, July 17 at the high-kill Murray County Shelter in Chatsworth, GA (just north of Atlanta and just south of Chattanooga, TN)!

Here’s the listing of some of the dogs at risk.

Please help them live!! We are very adoptable!

070808 010 Cute 5-yr-old great dane mix male is friendly and calm. He does well w/ people and other dogs.

070508 010 SMALL DOG - Adorable 1-yr-old female mix is pretty and sweet. She enjoys being with people and does great with other dogs.

070808 007 Handsome 1 1/2-yr-old pit bull mix boy is nice and friendly. He does nicely with people and other dogs.

070508 003 Cutie 1 1/2-yr-old lab mix girl is super friendly and nice. She does well with people and other dogs.

062308 011 PRETTY PAIR - Adorable pair of brittany bird dog mix siblings (the white/brown dogs on either end) are fun and friendly. As you can see here, they get along great w/ each other and other dogs. They also do well w/ people.

071208 030 Pretty 7-yr-old rottie mix female is very friendly. She enjoys being with people and w/ other dogs.

071208 036 KID TESTED - Beautiful 11-mo-old lab mix female is super sweet. She does well with people of all ages and with other dogs.

010 TINY PUPPY/DOG - Pretty 7-mo-old basset doxie mix is cute and sweet. She is friendly with people and other dogs of all sizes.

070508 021 PUPPIES TO SMALL DOGS - Adorable pair of 5-mo-old friends are great with each other, with people and with other dogs.

070808 006 - Sweetie 5-yr-old Great Dane mix boy is calm and gentle. He does well w/ people and w/ other dogs.

NOTE: The pups must have a rescue lined up ASAP, but can stay at the shelter a couple days longer if needed. Free transport to Atlanta provided.

If you can help in any way, immediately contact Lisa at 770-441-0329 or by email at lisakhester@bellsouth.net